Sappy meals: Taxpayers pick up tab for fast food workers' tiny pay

Dave Ralis

More than half of the folks who serve fast food meals in America earn so little, that they rely on Medicaid, food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit program to make ends meet, Reuters reports.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and public benefit programs show 52 percent of fast-food cooks, cashiers and other "front-line" staff had relied on at least one form of public assistance between 2007 and 2011, researchers at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Illinois told the news service.

In August, workers protested outside McDonald's, Burger King and other restaurants in 60 U.S. cities, demanding a "living wage" of $15 per hour.